A

What is a watershed?
No matter where you live, you live in a
watershed. A watershed is the land area

ll groups currently registered for the

Adopt Your Watershed database
can now update their information

online at http://yosemite.epa.gov/water/

that drains to a single body of water such

adopt.nsf/update. Its important that the

as a stream, lake, wetland or aquifer (an

information in the database is accurate, so

underground layer of water). Watersheds

we strongly encourage all groups to update

their records! You can also e-mail changes to:

come in many different sizes. A few acres

might drain into a small stream or wetland,

adopt@epa.gov.

estuarywhere fresh water and salt water

What is the Adopt Your

Watershed campaign?

mix. The actions of people who live in a

To encourage stewardship of the nations

watershed affect

water resources, EPA challenges citizens

the health of

and organizations to join the Agency and

or a few large rivers might drain into an

the waters that

others who are working to protect and

run through it.

restore our nations valuable rivers,

Rainfall and
snowmelt wash

streams, wetlands, lakes, ground

water and estuaries.

chemicals, fertilizers, sediment,

and other pollutants from the land
into water bodies. To
achieve healthy watersheds, EPA needs the help
of people like you!

e call the earth the water planet

because water covers 70 percent of

its surface. Americans depend on

clean water to drink, to irrigate crops, and to run

industries. Water resources provide opportunities such as shing and swimming, and wetlands
provide protection from oods. Rivers, lakes,

estuaries, and wetlands also provide critical habitat for wildlife. Estuaries serve as birthplace and
nursery for most saltwater sh and shellsh!

What do we mean
by adoption?
Adoption means participating
in a citizen-based effortlarge
or smallto restore or protect
a watershed, river, lake,
wetland or estuary.

The Adopt Your Watershed web site also has

a form for groups interested in receiving a
Certicate of Appreciation for their efforts.

Working with local government agencies

and others that make water quality

decisions
Tracking the development and

implementation of Total Maximum

Daily Loads (i.e., pollution budgets) and
watershed plans

How can I nd out what

groups are active in my
community?
Go to www.epa.gov/adopt. This online
catalog showcases opportunities to get
involved in activities in your community.
With hundreds of active volunteer

Examples of adoption activities include

monitoring groups, 12,000 classrooms,

Volunteering to monitor water quality

and more than 3,000 watershed alliances

Marking or stenciling storm drains

Organizing stream cleanups
Planting trees along eroding streambanks
Hosting a water festival

working nationwide, there are many

opportunities to join an organized effort in
your community.
If you dont have Internet access, you can
call EPAs Water Resource Center at
202-566-1729.

How Can I Make a Difference?

Top Ten Watershed Tips

Join the National Catalog of

Watershed Partnerships!

1.
2.

Conserve water every day. Take shorter showers, x leaks and turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

3.
4.
5.
6.

Use hardy plants that require little or no watering, fertilizers or pesticides in your yard.

partnerships, go to www.epa.gov/adopt.

Do not over apply fertilizers. Consider using organic or slow release fertilizers.

Click on Join Now.

7.

Never pour used oil or antifreeze into the storm drain or the street. Visit www.earth911.org to nd out
where you can go to dispose of hazardous wastes properly.

8.
9.
10.

Dont pour toxic household chemicals down the drain. Take them to a local hazardous waste collection
center instead.

Recycle yard waste in a compost pile and use a mulching mower to leave grass clippings on the lawn.
Use surfaces like wood, brick or gravel for decks, patios and walkways. They allow rain to soak in and not
run off.

To learn how your group can be included

in EPAs online catalog of watershed

The Adopt Your Watershed Web site also

has a form for groups interested in receiving
a certicate of appreciation for their efforts.

Pick up after your dog, and dispose of the waste in the toilet or the trash.
Drive lesswalk or bike instead. Many pollutants in our waters come from car exhaust and car leaks.
Adopt your watershed! Learn more at www.epa.gov/adopt.

Tools to Help You Adopt Your Watershed

Programs and Activities for Students

Tools for Watershed Partnerships

Adopt-A-Watershed www.adopt-a-watershed.org

EPAs Ofce of Wetlands, Oceans and

Watersheds www.epa.gov/owow

Educating Young People About Water

www.uwex.edu/erc/eypaw
Exploring Estuaries for Teachers and Kids
www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/kids
Making Ripples: How to Organize a School Water
Festival www.groundwater.org
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers)
www.projectwet.org
River of Words Poetry and Art Contest
www.riverofwords.org
Schoolyard Habitat Program of the National Wildlife
Federation www.nwf.org/schoolyardhabitats
Wetland Education
www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/education
Girl Scouts Water Drop Patch Project
www.epa.gov/adopt/patch

Low Impact Development Center

www.lowimpactdevelopment.org
The Clean Water Act: Online training course
www.epa.gov/watertrain/cwa
EPAs Watershed Academy Web
www.epa.gov/watertrain
Catalog of Federal Funding for Watershed
Protection www.epa.gov/watershedfunding
W.A.T.E.R.S. Water Assessment, Tracking and
Environmental Results is an exciting new tool that
allows mapping of data from many databases so it can
be viewed at the same time. W.A.T.E.R.S. helps users
nd basic answers to questions like How healthy is my
watershed? Should I drink the water? Should I eat
the sh? www.epa.gov/waters
Total Maximum Daily Loads www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl

EPA Watershed Patch Project

www.epa.gov/adopt/patch/certicates

STORETEPAs principal repository for water quality,

biological and physical data www.epa.gov/storet

USGS Water Science for Schools ga.water.usgs.gov/edu

Smart Growth Network www.smartgrowth.org/sgn

Center for Watershed Protection www.cwp.org

This is not a complete list of available resources, and mention of

these Web sites, organizations or products does not mean that
EPA endorses them. For a more extensive list, please visit EPAs
Ofce of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds Web site at www.
epa.gov/owow or call the Wetlands Help Line at 1-800-832-7828
or EPAs Water Resource Center at 202-566-1729.

Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Employees

(NEMO) www.nemo.uconn.edu

Volunteer
Monitoring
Across the country,
trained volunteers monitor the condition of their
local waters. Their efforts
help provide quality data
and build local environmental stewardship. For
a national directory of
volunteer water monitoring organizations and other information on how
you can get involved, visit www.epa.gov/owow/
monitoring/volunteer. On this site, you can
also learn about World Water Monitoring Daya
worldwide event celebrated every October 18th
that affords students, teachers, families, Scouts,
and others an opportunity to use a simple kit to
test the quality of local streams, lakes and bays.

Adopt Your Watershed

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Ofce of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds (4501T)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
e-mail: adopt@epa.gov

Web site: www.epa.gov/adopt

EPA 840-F-05-004
July 2005
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